Adidas shares rally after suitors rumoured to be circling Reebok
ADIDAS shares rallied yesterday on reports that a group of investors was planning a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) bid to buy the German sportswear group’s Reebok brand.
Jynwel Capital, a Hong Kong-based private equity investment firm, and funds affiliated with the Abu Dhabi government are understood to be poised to make the offer in a letter to Adidas directors, reports said. Adidas declined to comment.
The company bought Reebok in August 2005 for $3.8bn but has seen the US-based brand’s decline by a third since 2006 to $1.6bn in 2013.
Reebok lost a major contract with the US National Football League and was also his by a lockout at the National Hockey League last year, which hurt the company’s sales.
Adidas shares, which are down 41 per cent this year after a series of profit warnings, closed up 3.6 per cent last night after rising as much as six per cent in early trading.
Earlier this month, Adidas announced plans to return as much as €1.5bn (£930m) to shareholders over the next three years in an attempt to appease investors.